Springtime in Alabama

I think I’ve put the pieces together: our neighbors insisting that cateto (redneck) is a word we need to know; Granadinos apologizing to us for the strong local accent and for the supposed number of people who “speak really badly”; a history of economic underperformance relative to other parts of Spain; the warmth and friendliness we encounter every day; the South.

When Spaniards tell us that our son sounds like a local and we blush with unearned pride, it’s probably akin to Spanish parents hearing, “Wow, your kid sounds like he’s from Alabama!”